Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1887-04-12
HOW To LEARN TO SHOOT BIRDS.
Patience the Great Essential to Become
an Able Narksnan.

| a u
| young men who were practicing with pistols in
/ eth-avenue shooting gallery the other night, and
] discussing shooting in general with friend he
| was asked il he could tell how a man with but
| little knowledge OF gun could become an expert
/ as II wing shot in the field. He said:
! Utmost anyone who has patience in fact, any
one who has enough love for the sport and the pa
thence 90 stand the training can become practical
! wing shot, able to bring to bag enough game in
the course OF days shooting TO protect him from
the necessity OF eXaggerating when he relates his
| experience next day. II man knows absolutely
| nothing about gun he Will have to get some one
cartridge, close the breech, bring the gun to his
shoulder, and pull the trigger. There books
that pretend teach this, but they are dangerous
| guides for an ignOramuS to follow. Ii man
| knows the butt from the muZzle however, he can
| be told how TO become an expert shot. This Is
very gOoi time OF the year to BEGIN especially on
a rainy day, when time hangs heavy. Take the
gun To your room, and, after making sure
shoulder and aim at the doof,knob, and, as
the sight covers the mark press the
trigger slowly. 1t is astonishing 10 see how ner-
vUuS the new beginner is about pressing the trig-
ger. He does 1t with jerk invariably, and jerk
destroys the aim. a gun weighing eight pounds
is about right to practice with, and that is very
good weight for all sorts OF birds except ducks,
geese, &c. When you find that you can readily get
Che sight on the door knob, the keyhole, or some
mark on the other side of the street which you can
see through the window try following the crack
the door, the edge of the door frame from bot
tom TO top pulling the trigger as the sight reaches
the top. This is simple practice but If followed
deliberately il Strengt hens the muscles used in
handling the gun and also trains them to obey
the Will promptly, but without nervous haste.
Some men VIII learn to handle the gun calmly in
this kind of exercise in II day or two, but others
require month. When was learning kept my
gun leaning against the mantel, and picked it up
and pointed from one object TO another as often
as convenient.
..The next step is to learn to follow a moving
object. Aim at the head OF passing horse, keep
ing the sight as closely on an ear as possible, or
the head of the driver if the horse be attached
head a
sole object OF this is to strengthen the muscles
that they Will obey the will. Keep the eye so low
behind the butt OF the barrels that only the top OF
the sight appears against the object aimed at.
''When a pleasant day comes take your gun into
tn pre is 1 agt the PGdd aboSe
Fort Lee. A trap such may be had for from
$3.50 TO $40, Tor throwing glass balls, should be
taken along. friend to help with the trap is
convenient, but not necessary. But no glass balls
will be needed the first day. A few Old tin cans
VIII serve much better. Throw these straight up
with The trap, pointing the still empty gun at the
cans as they rise. Press the trigger when the can
has reached its greatest altitude. Do this over
and over. Then press the trigger as the can is
midway on its trip up or on its return. You Will
lind you do this that You usually tell
whether you would have hit the can or not, pro-
vided you had fired at it. Then set the trap so
that II will throw the cans first To one side and
then TO the other, and then straight away from
you"
.But why work with an empty gun?"
because the report and the Kick OF the dis
charge OF loaded gun almost always prove
too much for the nerves OF q beginner. The object
of the first practice OF beginner should be to
overcome all nervousness due TO handling danger
Gus weapons. He must learn not TO get ratified.
Nerves are the bane of marksmen. No rule can
tell how n man must practice with an empty gun,
but he must certainly not load the gun until he
feels certain that when he presses the trigger as
he points at the flying mark, he would certainly
hit it nineteen times out of twenty ii the gun were
loaded. The distance of the aspirant from the
trap while the gun is handled unlOaded should be
about twenty yards. Then, when ready for the
next step, reduce the distance to fifteen yards,
nj L..
the gun. Inc cartridges must contain Two
drachmS OF powder and three-quarterS OF an
ounce of No. shot. No. is the correct, all
around size OF shot In upland shooting, and
that weight of charge will not make Il Kick OF
any consequence when fired But don't shoot at
the can the first time IL Is thrown into the air
after the gun is loaded. Follow it before.
Being 10 IL, Will find il easier to follow
and with this feeling upperlnost throw the can
again Follow it TO its highest attitude, where the
Shot Is made easiest, and pull the trigger. IL the
previous training has been thorough enough 4
miss is impossible. II you Go miss, go back TO the
empty gun and follow the can over and over again
until proficiency comes. Then try The loaded gun
away, after you have learned TO hit il regularly as
II goes vertically up and then try it is thrown
To one Side You Will probably miss the first shot
at can thrown To one side, but il you hold Just q
triIle ahead OF The next one You viii bring 1t down.
Don't be in a hurry 10 leave the tin can for glass
balls. The cans cost nothing, anu can be used
over and over, Shot holes making no difference.
You can easily tell when you make a hit.
FINALLY IL Will become such an easy matter to
charge, say three drachnS Of powder and an ounce
of Shot, that IL will weary you. Then glaSS-balls
or clay-pigeons may be taken up. IL is better to
point them with the empty gun for a While. They
travel with much greater speed than tomato can,
aud il you follow Them for half OF days practice
with the empty gun IL will not be time thrown
away. There is but one rule for the length OF
time to be devoted 10 each kind OF practice and
that Is TO follow II until absolutely confident that
you can do the next thing readily as what you
are alreaey doing.
''FTUin clay pigeons the next step is, Of course
TO genuine game. No matter how thorough the
previous training has been, no novice can hope
10 30 into the held and bring game to bag ON
the first day. lie ought not to Try ii. He will get
the buck fever at the first Whirr OF Quail'S wing
and by undue haste and nervousness upset all the,
good effects OF his previous training. Take the
empty gun and no cartridges whatever and 90
INTO the helds. III cartridges are carried no man
can resist The temptation To Try them. There
are two things to be- done: One is TO point the
gun at every moving bird and beast that comes
within hundred yards; the other is to estimate
the distance Of the game pointed at. III squirrel
runs along fence, estimate the distance point
the gun DIT him until he runs out OF sight, and then
count the number OK steps from where you stood To
The fence, 10 see how near you came To guessing
the distance. Guess the distance to q bird on
a tree or 10 one Tying over some mark, as q
stump, and then step il OFF. Notice particularly
the apparent size OF the squirrel or the bird and
whether you were able to the squirrels ears or
the birds eyes plainly at the distance. Then hav-
In5 learned the distance by counting The number
OF three-ioot steps, you viii have something to
guide YOU Ia future gueSSes 1t is quite as i'm
pDrG-lnt 10 be able 10 estimate distances quickly
and accurately Us IL Is 10 point gun steadily for
Wnen shooting at nylng bird you will first have
u estimate how far IL ID away before you can tell
where To point your gun. Ii quail flies straight
away IRON YOU, you Will hold the gun fair on it
when shooting but II il flies across the field before
You, and y0u hold fair on, the shot will all pass
behind It, III the quail has fair wind to helm it
along, you must shoot Still farther ahead and
when you come To shooting at Wild ducks you Will
ind that at long distances you must not only
shoot ahead, but above the flying fowl At
times 10 feet ahead Will hot be too much
some books pretend 10 give the number
OF inches, feet or yards which the novice
should pDint the gun ahead OF different kinds of
birds on the wing. 1t is waste oil space The
novice can't learn that way. Alter learning 10
follow lying bird with an empty gun, load Wlth
fun service charge of three drch Inns II powder and
an ounce OF shot, and blaze away at every bird
that passes within forty OF nifty yards. il Won
don't mt Ii, aim little farther ahead, aud a lille
higher the next Time shot OF the same Kind pre-
sentS Itself. and il that misses 60 still farther
ahead. Alter each shot step oil The distance if
practicable. and by and by you will ind that Won
are abe 10 point tn gun 10 the right spot by in
stinct. But do not at first try TO point the gun 10
the right spot ahead OF the Hying bird without
nrst getting fair aim at the BIRD. Get the sight
lair on nrst, and then move The gun ahead and ire
Eventually you Will put your gun up to the right
spot, or make what Is called snap shot, without
stopping To think how lar ahead you aimed bur
that Will be alter you have enriched the dealer nv
buying ton or so OF lead to be used in learning
how
'.ls there no way in which man can practice en-
an oh all hob,